To Say I'm Sorry
by Axel Lives
Summary: Ever since the defeat of the Princess of Disaster, things have been going smoothly...or so it seems. Sasame wants to apologize to the others, especially Himeno and Hayate, for the things he's done. But the Leafe Knight of Sound finds that sometimes, sayin


To Say I'm Sorry

Hello! As you may or may not know, my name is Tokyoteen13...but most people call me Tokyo or TT. Anyway, I'm slacking off on other fics to write this one (who doesn't). This is my first Pretear fic. Basically, it's about Sasame and how he wants to apologize for the things he's done, but finds it's harder to say I'm sorry than he thought. SPOILERS if you haven't watched the whole anime there may be some spoilers...

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A young man sat in the shade of a large oak tree, the gentle breeze playing with his wisps of silver hair. Calm lavender eyes gazed intently at the endless blue sky. To anyone looking at him, he appeared to be relaxed, but he was actually in a state of inner turmoil. Sasame unconsciously bit his bottom lip; the blue sky and light wind only served as a reminder as to why he was in such a distraught phase.

"Sasame? Is there something the matter?" Takako, who had just arrived in Leafenia, asked

The Leafe Knight of Sound flashed his love a charming smile, hoping she wouldn't question him further.

"No, koi. There's nothing wrong." he said, wrapping her in his embrace

"If you're sure..."

"I'm sure."

At the Awayuki Mansion 

"Hey Hayate..." Himeno said, watering her tulips

"Yeah?"

"Has Sasame seemed a little...odd, lately?" she asked, now looking up from her flowers

"Yeah, I've noticed too. It almost seems like he's dead set on avoiding everyone. I passed him in the hall the other day, and when I said hi he just...looked at the floor and mumbled something back." Hayate replied, standing from the bench

"Maybe...I should go talk to him." she ventured

"That's a good idea."

"I'll catch him when he's leaving work." she decided, clapping dirt off her hands

"Do you want me to go with you?" Hayate asked

"No...I think it's better if it's just me. Thanks anyway. Well, I'll see you later!" she said running off

_Himeno...when will I be able to tell you...what I promised I would?_

Sasame walked down the steps of the radio station, hands in his pockets, looking morose. Lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice the pink headed obstacle obstructing his path.

"Hey." she said to him

"Hello Himeno."

"Do you have a minute?"

"I..." he looked at her crimson eyes, brimming with determination, and his shoulders sagged in defeat. "Sure..."

They walked back to her house, talking about how he and Takako were getting along. Instead of going in to the house, she stopped at the circular bench under the large wind chimes. Himeno sat on the bench and patted the spot next to her, inviting him to sit. He did and they began another conversation.

"Sasame...do you remember this place?" she asked

"Of course I remember. How could I forget? This is the spot where we first met."

"So...I suppose you're wondering what I wanted to talk to you about." she said

"Well...yes."

"It's just that...me and Hayate and some of the others just thought...you've been acting sort of strange lately, and we just wanted to know if there was anything wrong."

"..."

"Sasame? What's wrong? Please, you can tell me."

He stood up and stared at the ground. His hands clenched into shaking fists. For some reason, he just couldn't spit it out.

"Himeno...I...I..."

_Why can't I say it? It's just two little words! 'I'm sorry' and that's it! So why...why can't I bring myself to say it? To tell her how I feel?_

"Sasame..." Himeno said, gently touching his arm 

"I...I...I can't!" he yelled and disappeared in a flash of light

Himeno sighed. Whatever was troubling him must be awful if he can't even bring himself to say what it is. She was about to go look for Hayate when something caught her eye. Bending down where Sasame had been standing, she noticed drops of liquid splashed on the ground.

_Was he...crying?_

Sasame sat in the branches of the oak tree he'd sat under earlier, his body racked with sobs. He couldn't understand why he hadn't been able to tell Himeno the truth. Or why he was crying for that matter. It hurt him so much just to think of the matter. When he thought of all the horrible things he'd done, his chest constricted and it became hard for him to breath.

As the tears began to stop falling he rested his head against the trunk of the tree. He closed his eyes and wondered what the others would think of him if they had seen him crying. He smiled sadly.

_They'd probably think it was pathetic._

It was then that he began to notice how tired he was. He hadn't been getting much sleep lately and now it was taking its toll. Slowly but surely, he drifted off to sleep.

After what Himeno had told him about Sasame running off, Hayate had decided to look for Sasame. He figured he'd gone to Leafenia, so he had the other Knights spread out and search. He began to get exasperated when little Shin ran over to him, emerald eyes bubbling over with tears.

"Shin? What's wrong?" he asked picking up the littlest Leafe Knight

"I...I found Sasame..." he said through his tears

Panic struck him like a lead weight. Had something happened to him?

"Shin! Is he hurt?!" he asked hurriedly

The small boy shook his head. Relief spread through Hayate followed by confusion.

"If he's not hurt, why are you crying?"

"Because...because I asked the plants where he was and I found him in the big oak tree. And he was asleep and I asked the tree why he was there and..."

"And what?"

"...And the tree said he was crying...Sasame is sad!" Shin cried as a new wave of tears erupted

_Crying? Sasame? Himeno never told me that..._

It seemed odd...he couldn't remember the last time Sasame had cried.

"Shin. I want you to go find Goh, and have him round up the others. Then wait here until I come back. Can you do that for me Shin?"

Shin nodded yes while rubbing the tears out of his eyes.

"Good. I'll be back," he said disappearing in a rush of wind

Hayate stood at the base of the gigantic tree. He looked up through the branches and could make out Sasame's slumped figure.

"Sasame!" he called

No response. He decided to climb the tree. Swiftly jumping from branch to branch he easily reached the one Sasame was on. One of his arms dangled loosely over the side, while the other one rested on his stomach. His head was bent forward and Hayate knelt to get a look at him.

He certainly looked as though he'd been crying. The corners of his eyes were still wet with tears. It was then Hayate noticed the dark circles around his eyes. Seeing as they shared a room, Hayate knew he'd been having trouble sleeping, but he hadn't known it was this bad.

"Sasame." he whispered, shaking his shoulder

Nothing.

_I wonder why most people whisper when they're trying to wake someone up...how stupid._

He decided that since Sasame obviously wouldn't be waking up for a while, he'd have to carry him back. He grabbed Sasame's arm and slung it over his shoulder, then slowly brought them both to the ground.

Shin had done as Hayate had asked and now they were all there, along with Himeno and Takako. They talked among themselves about what could possibly be wrong with Sasame.

"I hope it's not something I did..." Takako said, ringing her hands

"No, I don't think so." Himeno said

Shin was holding Takako's hand, sniffling. He had told them what the tree had said but it didn't help them much.

"I don't think I've ever seen Sasame cry..." Mannen said

"Me neither." Hajime added

"I don't even think I have...and I'm older than you two." Goh said scratching his head

"And I'm even-"Kei began as Himeno cut in

"Alright! We get the point! No one has seen Sasame cry, it's not a contest!!!" she yelled

They looked at her oddly and she let loose a sigh.

"I'm sorry. I'm just...worried."

At that moment Hayate appeared, Sasame slung over his shoulder. Himeno and Takako rushed forward.

"Oh, Sasame...he's hurt!" Takako cried into Himeno's arms

"Is he, Hayate?" Himeno asked, tearing up herself

"No...he's just asleep. Go, Kei. Help me get him into bed will you?"

"Sure."

"Right."

The three carried Sasame to his and Hayate's room and lay him on the bed. The others followed in and Takako grabbed a stool and sat next to the bed, Himeno following suit. Takako placed her hand on Sasame's and tried not to cry. She didn't know what was wrong so she couldn't help.

No one moved. No one spoke. The only sound to be heard was Shin's sniffling. They weren't sure what they would do just yet. But if one thing was certain, it was that they would have a long, LONG, talk when he woke up.

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So there's the first chapter. Good? Bad? Needs work? Please review and tell me what you think! Chapter 2 coming soon!


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